


To Build A Home

by tstrash



Series: Our Life Is Like A Song [3]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, a lil bit of angst, and also happy birthday Winnie, to Steph because #renogate, what's a good story without a little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 23:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tstrash/pseuds/tstrash
Summary: In the years after their competitive career coming to an end, Scott has never been more grateful for the fact that people have stopped caring so much about his and Tessa's every move.OrThe story about Tessa and Scott buying their first house together that no one asked for.





	To Build A Home

In the years after their competitive career coming to an end, Scott has never been more grateful for the fact that people have stopped caring so much about his and Tessa's every move. 

That way, they blend in when they argue in about cabinets. 

It was Scott's idea to buy a house in Montreal, and also to buy a fixer- upper. Tessa was just looking for something functional. With the end of a coaching season winding down for the summer, Scott persisted, thinking it would give him something to work on, but he may have momentarily forgot that he was living with Tessa. And as much as he loves being with Tessa and living with her, he still has a hard time saying no to her. 

\--

After a long and gruelling workout, Scott comes back to Tessa's apartment that he had slowly reallocated all of his belongings into over the past month (not that it mattered, considering he stayed there all the time anyways). She's sitting at the kitchen table with her back facing him, quickly and furiously typing away on her laptop.

"How's the paper?" Scott asks as he shuts the door behind him, toeing off his shoes and dropping his gym bag in the closet. 

"Stupid" she answers concisely. When she applied for her MBA, she failed to realize that the papers would only get longer and harder. She huffs out a sigh of frustration as she feels Scott's arms wrap around her shoulders from behind the chair, pressing his lips into her neck, his nose squishing into her ear. "Scott..."

"Hmm" he huffs into her neck, placing small kisses wherever he can.

"Not in the mood for this right now" she says coldly and he respects her need for space, reluctantly pulling his head and arms away from her, retreating into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She immediately goes back to typing. 

"Tess" he asks softly from across the room.

"What?" she responds, not looking up from her computer. 

"Hi" is all he says. 

Tessa lets out another sigh as she stops typing, pulls her glasses from off of her face and onto the table, bringing both of her hands to rub her eyes back into focus as she turns in her chair to face him where he's standing in front of the sink looking at her. 

"I'm sorry" she says quietly, standing up to walk over to him. He easily greets her with open arms and she sinks right into his embrace, fitting perfectly even after all the years they've had together. He places a couple kisses on top of her hair and she pulls back to look at him. "Hi, how was the gym?"

"It was a good one today. I'm gonna be sore in the morning." 

"I can tell, you stink" Tessa says, dramatically pulling away from him, accompanied by a giggle.

Scott takes this moment to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm gonna go shower, but after I have something to tell you." A mischievous grin swipes his face and Tessa cocks her head to the side, lifting an eyebrow? 

"Oh?" she squeaks.

"It's nothing bad" he reassures her. "Just... keep working on your paper and uh- yeah don't worry. Well talk after" he tells her quickly before walking down the hallway to get in the shower. 

20 minutes later, a freshly showered Scott joins Tessa at the table where she in fact immediately resumed work on her assignment. He looks at her expectantly but before he says anything, she holds up a finger which means he needs to let her finish typing her thought before speaking. When she hits the return key on the keyboard loudly, she lets her eyes meet his, and the look she receives back makes her worry. 

"I've been thinking" is how Scott starts the conversation. Every conversation that he has started with those three words has never had a promising outcome, which makes the pit in Tessa's stomach grow with anticipation and nerves. She sits there quietly, willing him to continue. 

Scott can sense the worry in her eyes so he doesn't hesitate to take the hand that is resting on the table in his, gently rubbing circles on her knuckles with his thumb, as if he is about to soften the blow of what he's about to say. "And I think- that I- uh-"

"Just spit it out, Scott." 

"I don't want to live here anymore." 

Tessa slowly retracts her hand from his grip, shuts the top of her laptop and gets up to move to the couch. 

"Babe, no, no, that's not what I meant" panic takes over, trying to cover what he had just said as he quickly scrambles to follow her to the couch. 

Tessa has learned over the years that Scott doesn't have the best way with words, and that sometimes patience can be rewarding with him. So when she sits down on one end and he immediately moves to sit next to her, taking her hands back in his, she doesn't pull away. 

"So what did you mean then?" she asks back, her voice completely monotone. 

"I think _we_ \- as in us, together, should live somewhere different" he tells her, motioning between the two of them. 

"Okay?" she asks confused as what he's trying to get at. 

"I think we should buy a house" he says, confidently. 

He doesn't need her to say anything because when she pulls him into a soft and warm kiss, that was his answer right there. 

\--

The realtor meets them at the first property at 10 am on a Saturday. She's a perky, blonde lady who seems way too happy to be doing her job. The house is a 4 bedroom, 2-bathroom townhouse in a quiet neighborhood close to the rink, but not at all close to Tessa’s school. Tessa and Scott hold hands through the entire showing, sharing looks as the lady guides them through the house, Tessa politely commenting on different rooms and making mental notes of decor ideas. They like it, but it doesn’t have the feeling of home they’re looking for.

The next house is... a work in progress, but Scott sees it as potential. It’s worse for wear on the outside, paint peeling off the siding, definitely in need of new shingles, and a pile of dirt that is the making of a garden. It’s in one of the safest neighborhoods, it’s within walking distance to the rink and Tessa’s school, and one of Scott’s favorite café’s is on the same block.

“Are you sure this is the place we asked about online?” Tessa asks the realtor.

“Well, this is the place that Scott had emailed me about the other day, I believe” she tells her, a bit of confusion as she looks to Scott, who’s looking at Tessa.

“I know we didn’t look at this one together, but I kept looking after you went to bed the other night and figured it wouldn’t hurt to just take a look at it” Scott told her softly, holding her hand in an all too familiar dance hold, giving him the freedom to let his thumb move along her fingers. 

“Is it in our budget?” she looks past Scott and asks the realtor.

“Under, actually!” she exclaims. “Let’s go take a look inside!” she says, allowing them to follow her inside. 

As Tessa steps in the door, she is immediately greeted by the loud squeak of a floor board underneath her. She let out a quiet sigh, Scott immediately picking up on her frustration squeezes her hand and gently says “just give it a chance.” As they continue the tour, her suspicions are brought to life. There are holes in the walls, as if someone punched through them, almost all of the floor boards creak, the bannister on the stairs could give you slivers if you touch it, and it’s just dirty. 

\--

“So, what did you think?” Scott asks a quiet Tessa back to their apartment complex. 

“I really don’t want a fixer upper, Scott. It’s too much work, we don’t have the time to get it all done. The entire house needs to be done! That could take months! And we only really have a little less than 3 till the busy season picks up again” she tries to reason with him. 

As he takes her hand over top of the center console, he thinks about his argument. “Tess, when have I ever backed down from a challenge?”

“Never.”

“So think of this as a challenge. We could by this house that’s in the perfect location, we work on it together, keeping us busy over the summer, but having a reward so great come out of it. I don’t know about you, but I think this could be really fun. And you have to admit, even with the layout, it has so much potential. And besides, this way we can make it exactly how we want it. What do you say?” He steals a glance at her before training his eyes back on the road. 

“I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I can ask” he says, pulling to a stop light and kissing her cheek. 

\--

The papers have been signed and the inspection is complete, and Tessa and Scott are now the (proud) owners of a home in Montreal. While keeping Tessa’s apartment around for the next month so they have somewhere to stay, Scott wastes no time enlisting the help of his brothers and dad to come and help gut the place. 

“So why did you think it was a good idea to buy this place, Scotty?” his dad asks as they haul pieces of drywall out to the dumpster in the driveway. 

“It has potential. It’s in the perfect neighborhood, it’s a got a good layout, and I also wanted to give Tess the chance to decorate to her hearts content, so what better way than starting from the very bottom?” Scott tells him, a smile taking over his face.  
“I suppose this way, you can do it exactly the way you want it done, and there’s something to say about building a home together.” 

“It’s good, it feels right, Dad” he continues. 

“I’m proud of you, Scott. You’re a good man” his dad says earnestly, clapping him on the back. They take a break, sitting on the front step as the four of them crack open a beer and cheers to the work they’ve put in already, and grimace at the work that’s about to come. 

\--

In the following days, Scott takes Tessa to home depot to pick out paint for the house. 

The house has made so much progress over the last couple days with new drywall being put in, all of the dark hardwood has been placed on the bottom floor and the white carpet being rolled out upstairs, that all that’s left besides furnishing and the kitchen is picking out a colour scheme. Tessa’s simplistic heart immediately looks at the paint chips in all the shades of white the store has to offer, while Scott looks more at the blues and greens. 

“I just don’t think that white on white on white is the best idea, babe. It’s gonna look washed out and boring” Scott tells her as he pulls out lighter blue colors to show her. “A little bit of contrast never hurt anyone.”

“But that’s the beauty of getting furniture. You make the walls a monotone color and that way you can get a nice blue couch with decorative throw pillows. That’s how you make a room pop. Not with a clashing wall color. Besides, it’s just paint. And when we want to decorate the corner room upstairs in a few years with a nice blue or pink, you’ll get your color” she smirks at him, leans up on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to his lips. 

Tessa wins that argument. 

He gives up quickly and takes the white she picked over to the counter to mix the paint and they leave the store, going directly to the house to drop the cans off. They spend the next six hours painting all of the walls, not even breaking for dinner. When Scott finishes the last wall it’s 12:30am and Tessa is sitting on the floor, watching him pay close attention to making sure he’s covered all the corners with a smaller paint brush. A smile creeps on her lips as she watches him work.

“Almost done there?” she asks, letting out a yawn. 

With the last stroke of the brush, he turns to her and smiles. “Looks good.”

“You know, this was a good idea. It’s turning out to be a fun little project” Tessa says as he crosses towards her.  
“See? I knew it was the right choice!” Scott exclaims with the ‘I was right attitude’. “But you know, other than the furniture, there’s something we’ve forgotten completely about” he says with a hint of mischief, and the famously known grin of his is back. 

“And what might that be?” she plays along, adding the same tone to her question as he kneels in front of where she’s sitting on the ground. When he moves in close, her arms wrap around his neck and she gently pulls on a tuft of the long locks he refuses to cut. 

“Usually when people buy their first home, they make a point to christen it” he moves his head closer to her, lips now caressing her ear as his arms snake around her waist and lower her down to the floor. 

“Is that so? Usually they would have a bed to do it in though…” she trails off but can’t help but giggle. 

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” Scott says before leading her into a fiery kiss. 

Around paint trays and drip curtains with the windows open to air it out, they do it right on the living room floor of their new house. 

They realize when they wake up at 4 am, uncomfortable and sore, that maybe they should’ve waited till they had a bed. 

It was still worth it. 

\--

As June transitions into July, and is evident by the scorching heat, Tessa is out front dealing with the dirt pile she plans on growing flowers in. Her mom is in town to see the progress on the house, and had offered to help her create something presentable with the front yard. 

Scott spent the morning at the rink with his junior team, working away at creating programs for the season that is just around the corner. He returns back to Tessa’s apartment where all their stuff remains for the time being, has a quick shower, orders and picks up take out for lunch, and heads over to their home. When he pulls up to the front, Tessa and Kate are sitting on the stairs by the front door drinking lemonade and he can’t help but think about how domestic their life has turned out to be. He walks up to them with takeout bags, sits next to Tessa, greeting her with a kiss, and presents them each with a salad. 

“You must’ve been working hard, the garden looks great!” 

“We haven’t even planted anything yet, but thanks for the compliment” Tessa tells him, looking over at the bed of dirt that isn’t a pile anymore. “We’re getting there” she continues before placing a kiss on his cheek.  
“How was the rink, Scott?” Kate asks him between bites of her lunch. 

“Really good. I think my team has some potential this year” he continues, as he explains what they have been working on. 

When Tessa finishes her lunch, she gets up from the stair, wandering inside to dispose of the container and can’t help but look around. She immediately starts taking mental notes of how she wants to decorate the living room, and get a big wooden table for the dining room like she has in her house in London, and the bareness of the kitchen strikes her. They hadn’t picked out cabinets yet. 

When she returns outside, Scott and Kate had moved onto another topic of conversation when she slots herself back in between the two, interlocking her arm with Scott’s and nestling her head on his shoulder, saying nothing as to not disturb the conversation. 

“You must know by now that this is something she does when she wants something” Kate speaks up, gesturing to Tessa’s open display of affection. 

“Not true, although this time it’s true” Tessa quips, picking her head up from his shoulder to look between her mom and him. 

Kate and Scott share a look before Scott turns his head to Tessa. “What’s up?” he asks, choosing his words carefully around the two women in front of him. 

“You realize we haven’t picked out cabinets for the kitchen yet” she says, with sweetness dripping from her words. 

Kate picks up her garbage and stands at the top of the stair. “I’m going to throw this out and then head back to my hotel for a spa treatment. Let me know when to come by tomorrow, Tessa” she says quickly before heading inside then immediately back out. On her way she hugs them both and heads to her car. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her want out of a conversation so quickly” Tessa says and they both laugh. 

Her mom was right. It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to be around for. 

\--

They return back to the apartment after lunch on the stairs to begin packing some of the things they won’t need in the next couple weeks when Scott brings it up. 

“So about the cabinets” he begins, as he’s pulling down the books from the bookshelf in the main sitting room and placing them into boxes.  
“The cabinets! Here’s what I’m thinking” she starts. “I was looking online and I found these gorgeous antique white cabinets that would go perfectly and-“

“White?” Scott interjects. 

“Yeah, you already agreed that white would be fine as long as we got colorful furniture. Anyways, I think we can afford them since the house was cheap and I can’t wait to show you-“

“Tessa” Scott stops what he’s doing and looks up at her. “How much are these cabinets?” 

“Uh, I think if I calculated right, it would be about $10,000 to do the whole kitchen.”

His jaw dropped straight to the floor at the revelation of the price. “No” he says simply.

“Scott, you haven’t even seen them yet, you can’t just-“

“No, Tess. I’m not spending 10 grand on cabinets. That’s insane” he tells her, sighing with frustration as he rakes his fingers through his hair. 

“Who said you had to spend the money? I can pay for them, this is my house too” she tells him, defensively. 

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that that’s way too much money for cabinets when we could be spending that money on other things. We haven’t even bought furniture yet. Besides, I’m sure we can find the same ones for cheaper somewhere else” he explains, trying to keep himself from boiling over. “You know” he continues, “I’ve been trying really hard here, working long days and late nights to get this place in perfect condition for us, but somehow I still don’t feel like I’m being heard. You got your choice of floor, you got your choice for wall colors, you got to choose it all, Tessa. I just- I wish I could have some choice to, you know?” he brings his voice back down from yelling. 

“You chose the house, Scott. You got the biggest choice of all” she says flatly, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“ _We_ , Tess. We chose this house, _together_ , like we’ve been doing everything else. _Together_.” 

“I can’t do this right now” Tessa says, before turning and walking to their room, slamming the door behind her. 

“Oh that’s just great! Walking away when it gets tough doesn’t fix anything” he yells down the hallway before angrily throwing books into the box. 

A couple minutes later, Tessa emerges from the bedroom in shorts and a sports bra. 

“Tess, look-“ he can only get out before she cuts him off.

“I’m going for a run. I’ll be back later.” She stuffs her headphones into her ears and leaves without another word. Scott sits on the couch, sinking into it further and further, thinking it might just be easier to let her have her way. 

\--

That night, Tessa comes back home later than what would warrant for a run. She ignored the texts and phone calls Scott had left her, most of them wondering if she was still alive, and he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when she walks through the door. 

“There’s some leftover dinner for you if you want it” he says timidly from the couch, where he’s watching The Office. 

“Not hungry” she says before walking into the bathroom, locking the door and turning the shower on. Scott lets out a frustrated groan before getting up and grabbing the laptop from the kitchen table. He opens it up, and the tab that’s open is Tessa’s $10,000 cabinets. He can’t help but think that they’re beautiful but also can’t get over the fact that they cost so much. So, he began his search for similar ones at hopefully half the cost. 

Scott retreats to the bedroom, bringing the laptop with him, in hopes that he and Tessa can have a conversation about this and he can gently bring up the fact that he found cabinets at a fraction of the price that are merely identical to the ones she had found.

He’s in bed surfing the internet while she’s still in the bathroom presumably working through her nighttime routine. When she comes out five minutes later, only wearing one of his old shirts and underwear, hair still damp over one shoulder, she wordlessly crawls into bed next to him. He doesn’t look up from the screen, but can tell that she looks beautiful and just wants to hold her, but he restrains, because he doesn’t know what she’s thinking yet. 

“I’m sorry I flew off the radar today” she talks quietly, still looking straight ahead. 

“It would have been nice to know when you were coming home, but I understand you needed space” he tells her, finally allowing his eyes to train on her face. His suspicions were right: she was the most beautiful in this state. 

“I know, I know. I should’ve given you the courtesy of letting you know I was okay.”

“I was genuinely worried, Tess. You know how I immediately assume the worst.”

She gently lifts her hand to his face, rubbing her thumb against his cheek, before kissing him quickly. 

When she pulls back, she looks into his eyes for the first time that day. “You we’re right, you know. I have really been forcing you into anything I want and that’s not fair. And ten thousand dollars is a huge amount of money. And, we did agree on the house together. I just, I’m frustrated, Scott. We should’ve had this house finished weeks ago and I’m getting impatient. The lease is up on this place in two weeks and we haven’t even bought furniture or appliances yet.” 

“I know. And I’m sorry I just dumped all of that on you, that wasn’t fair of me to do.” He tells her and there’s a pause in the conversation. 

After a tense silence, both of them not wanting to overstep, Scott speaks up, timidly. “I know this might not be the best time to discuss this, but like you said, we have two weeks, so better now than never. While you were showering, I looked at the cabinets you found, and they’re gorgeous, just like you said, but I really cannot fathom spending ten grand.”

“I know, I realize that now it’s a big request-“

“Which is why I started searching” Scott begins and Tessa’s mouth turns into an O shape, encouraging him to keep going. “I like the idea of white, and you’re right, we can totally spice up the space with color elsewhere, so I found some alternatives that are way more affordable and looks very similar” Scott explains, turning the laptop towards her so she can look. 

“Ikea? Really, Scott?”

“Seriously? I know it’s not your favorite, but please? Just look. Look past the brand, T” he pleads with her and she huffs out a breath and looks at the screen.

“I mean, they aren’t exact…. But they’re close” she says, leaning her head onto his shoulder. 

“What do you say we go tomorrow and take a look. If you really don’t like them, we can look elsewhere. But they fit the criteria. They’re the distressed white you want, they have all the sizes we need, they’re affordable, and I can have them put together in no time. We don’t have to wait for them to order them and come in” he reasons. 

“Okay” is all she says. 

“Okay” he repeats before shutting the laptop. “I love you, Tessa” he tells her, before kissing her again. 

“I love you too. I hate fighting with you” she says, settling herself to lay down for the night. 

“Let’s not fight anymore, then.”

“Okay.”

“Night, T” Scott says into her ear as he snuggles in behind her. 

She hums in contempt. 

\--

Tessa hadn’t been to Ikea in so long that she forgot the place is an absolute zoo, especially on a Saturday. But it was Scott’s day off, and hers as well, so it only made sense to go when they both had the time. Scott shows Tessa the cabinets they looked at online and she honestly admits to him that she doesn’t hate them. Scott considers this a win. With a little more convincing and a promise of an ice cream on the way out, Tessa agrees on Ikea furniture. 

They go down to the warehouse after Tessa got distracted by the plants and cute little summer pots, taking a couple, telling Scott that “the best way to freshen up a room is with a nice plant.” He just smiles and kisses her, right in the middle of the store because he can. 

Tessa holds the cart still as Scott loads all of the boxes onto it, making sure to grab the right amount of each one. He checked the boxes and his list over three times to ensure they wouldn’t have to make another trip. When he is completely satisfied, they pay the considerably cheaper price, and load the boxes onto the flatbed of his truck, together. 

Scott wastes no time, calling Patch on the way home to ask if he could spare a few hours this afternoon helping Scott begin to assemble the many pieces. Patch is over the moon to help and Marie volunteers herself to take Tessa out for a cocktail, which she gladly accepts. 

“I have to say, I am impressed with the progress you’ve made in such a short amount of time on this place” Patch says as they begin assembling the first one. 

“Well, I don’t really have much of a choice but to work quickly. The lease on Tessa’s place is up at the end of next week and we need somewhere to live” Scott says back. 

“I’m really proud of you guys” Patch says, pulling out the drill from the tool belt he’s wearing.

“For?” Scott inquires. 

“Figuring your shit out. We’re happy for you, both Marie and I.” 

“Thanks, buddy” Scott says with a laugh as he holds the wood still while Patch drills into the side. 

In the few hours they have before Tessa and Marie come back to the house, they successfully put in about half of the cabinets, and Tessa admits she’s impressed, even complimenting the handywork. 

Marie and Patch leave them be, Patch offering to come by again tomorrow to help him finish, which he gladly accepts. They make a plan, and then Tessa and Scott are left in their half- finished kitchen. 

“What do you think about pulling an all nighter and finishing installing these things?” Tessa throws the idea out. “I can help you!” 

“I think that honestly that is a terrible idea.” Tessa’s entire face turns down. “No, not that I think you can’t help, because you’re smart and perfect and can read directions, but I think it’s because I am exhausted and if heaven forbid, something goes wrong, I will snap. And we agreed to no fighting, remember?” 

Tessa nods her head and stays silent while Scott scoops her up in his arms. 

“I just really want to get this done. We only have a week, Scott” she says, reciprocating his embrace, allowing him to just hold her there. 

“The kitchen will be done tomorrow. In the evening, we’re going to go and order appliances, so that they’re here by next week, and then on Monday after work, we will furniture shop” he plans out.

“That’s still cutting it really close” Tessa worries. 

“It’s all we can do. All we need really is a bed. The rest can come after. If we have to have takeout for a few days because we don’t have a stove, then so be it” he tells her and kisses the top of her head. 

For the first time on this whole journey, Tessa finally feels at home. 

\--

The kitchen is done, as the appliances were installed this morning. The furniture has been picked out, and should be delivered sometime tomorrow, it’s mostly livable now that the hot water and electricity are on, and the lease on Tessa’s apartment miraculously expires the day after. 

Tessa wakes up from a quick nap to find her apartment mostly empty. They were able to move over some of the furniture from this place to their new home, making it work with the aesthetic they had been going for, but considering the fact that their new home was at least three times the size, they needed more to fill the space. She resumes packing up all of the kitchen supplies into boxes, noting that she doesn’t even know what half of the utensils are used for, and doesn’t ever recall buying them. When she has everything in boxes, right on cue, Scott walks in. 

“Hi” he says softly, coming up from behind her, pulling her to him and squeezing tight. 

“How was the rink?” she asks, moving her hands over his arms which are firmly around her waist.

“The usual. You got most of the packing done?” He asks. 

“Mostly. I took a lot of breaks, and may or may not have just woken up from a nap.” She admits and they both laugh softly before he moves his face into the crook of her neck and breathes in. “I think I’m actually gonna miss this place.”

“Hmm” the muffled sound comes from him.

“This was where it all began, you know. The comeback, you helped me move in. We had our first real time in my bedroom..” he laughs immediately at this. 

“Real time” he clarifies and snorts, as if they haven’t done it before. 

“You know what I mean” she says, slapping his arm. “I don’t know. I’m just being silly and sentimental, that’s all." 

“It’s okay, T. You know what I think about when I look at this place empty?” 

“What?”

“I see another new beginning. We made the choice to move. We rebuilt this beautiful new house together, it’s kind of like another comeback.”

She twists around in his arms and starts to kiss him. “We should do it one last time in this place. For sentimental reasons” she pulls back and winks before pulling him to the bedroom. 

Their last night in her apartment is spent on the mattress on the floor of the bedroom, naked and tangled in the sheets that were haphazardly thrown on top. 

Tessa couldn’t have thought of a more perfect way to end their time in the apartment. 

\--

She signed the papers, closing the lease once and for all on her now empty apartment and they drive away, both waving goodbye to the building that once symbolized their new beginning. Perhaps it still does, that is until they pull up to the house 4 in from the corner on a heavily shaded street with trees that tower over. Before getting out of the car, they share a look, but Tessa becomes eager and jumps out, anticipating the final look on their new project. 

They unlock the front door together and it seems to be a common theme that has transcended further than their skating. It’s exactly what they had envisioned in the beginning. Dark hardwood floors contrast the white of the walls, just like Tessa had said they would. A classic navy-blue couch, with white embroidered throw pillows draw your eyes to the room. The kitchen’s distressed look is exactly what Tessa had wanted, and Scott actually loves it, but mostly because Tessa loves it. The dining room has the exact wooden table that also is in Tessa’s house in London with matching wooden chairs around it. Upstairs, the banister is now safe to lean on, their bedroom looks almost identical to the one that was in her apartment, minus the new navy chair in the corner and the walk- in closet Scott has specially crafted for Tessa. (She shrieked and kissed him hard when she first saw it.) And at the end of the hallways was a small bedroom. It had carpet and that was all. When Tessa opened the door, Scott stood behind her. 

“This is for our next project” he says as she closes the door. She turns around to look into his eyes and smiles. 

“I think I need a break before we get to that one first. This one was enough for now” she laughs and places her hands on his shoulders. 

“We’re home now, babe. We’ve got lot’s of time.”

**Author's Note:**

> you can yell at me on tumblr @tessaandscotttrash if you want
> 
> also I have never done reno's before so don't yell at me for not knowing anything about them


End file.
